Prehistoric Fish - Silurian

Silurian

A significant evolutionary milestone during the Silurian (about 443 to 419 million years ago) was the appearance of jawed and bony fish.

The acanthodians, or spiny sharks, appeared by the late Silurian, about 420 million years ago, and became extinct before the end of the Permian, about 250 million years ago. However, scales and teeth attributed to this group, as well as more derived gnathostomes such as Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes, date from the Ordovician (~460 million years ago). Acanthodians were generally small shark-like fishes varying from toothless filter-feeders to toothed predators. They were once often classified as an order of the class Placodermi, another group of primitive fishes, but recent authorities tend to place the acanthodians nearer to or within the living gnathostomes.

The first bony fish, the Osteichthyes, appeared, represented by the Acanthodians covered with bony scales; fish reached considerable diversity and developed movable jaws, adapted from the supports of the front two or three gill arches.